The decomposition process and nutrient release of invasive plant litter regulated by nutrient enrichment and water level change

Abstract

Wetlands are vulnerable to plant invasions and the decomposition of invasive plant litter could make impacts on the ecosystem services of wetlands including nutrient cycle and carbon sequestration. However, few studies have explored the effects of nutrient enrichment and water level change on the decomposition of invasive plant litter. In this study, we conducted a control experiment using the litterbag method to compare the decomposition rates and nutrient release in the litter of an invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides in three water levels and two nutrient enrichment treatments. This study found that the water level change and nutrient enrichment showed significant effects on the litter decomposition and nutrient dynamic of A. philoxeroides. The increase of water level significantly reduced the decomposition rate and nutrient release of litter in the nutrient control treatment, whereas no clear relationship was observed in the nutrient enrichment treatment, indicating that the effect of water level change on litter decomposition might be affected by nutrient enrichment. At the late stage of decomposition, the increase of phosphorus (P) concentration and the decrease of the ratio of carbon to P suggested that the decomposition of invasive plant litter was limited by P. Our results suggest that controlling P enrichment in water bodies is essential for the management of invasive plant and carbon sequestration of wetlands. In addition, the new index we proposed could provide a basis for quantifying the impact of invasive plant litter decomposition on carbon cycle in wetlands.

Nutrient return through decomposing Coriaria nepalensis litter in degraded hills of Kumaun Himalaya, India

“…t 50 and t 95 for different components ranged from 50 to 327 and 216-1,414 days, respectively (Table 4) as it depends on various factors such as biochemistry of components, behavior of soil and edaphic factors. The higher t 50 and t 95 reported by Bohara et al (2019) were 456-569 and 3,289-4,125, respectively, in shrubland of Taihang Mountain, North China; Yang et al (2021) reported 880-1,529 for t 50 and 3,938-6,563 days for t 95 and Huang et al (2011) reported 324-511 days for t 50 and 1,405-2,119 days for t 95 . Caliman et al (2020) reported 84-284 days for t 50 days and 372-1,230 days for t 95 for multipurpose trees in Central India, which was lower than reported in the present study.…”

Effects of soil amendment from herbal and eucalyptus industrial waste on methane emission and rice yield

“…The trend showed that manure treatment produced a higher yield at both vegetative and generative stages (Table 9). This could be because the C/N ratio of manure was released for plant growth (Yang et al, 2021). Interestingly, available K positively correlated with all agronomic parameters, while a negative correlation was found between CH4 emission and agronomic parameters in both organic and conventional farming systems (Table 9).…”

Resource Management in Agroecosystems

“…Especially in the case of small and resource poor farmers, with reduced usage of machinery cost (<65.52%) under CA, farmers spend less (14.46%) on different cultivation practices, increasing their net returns as compared to conventional agriculture practices [86,87]. In sub-Saharan Africa, scientific studies revealed that with systematic use of practices such as no-tillage, residue retention and crop rotation the costs of cultivating maize or soybean were reduced (20-29%) and the net returns, the benefit-cost ratio increased to a greater extent [88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98]. A similar impact of less soil disturbing practices such as permanent beds and zero tillage was obtained on net returns or profitability of maize-chickpea rotation in India (28.8% and 24% respectively) [99][100][101][102][103].…”